Apparatus and method for inserting dual weatherstrips having opposed sealing elements into a frame member

ABSTRACT

Weatherstrips ( 13, 15 ) having opposed pile sealing elements ( 226 ) are installed in opposed slots in a frame member ( 14 ) so that the piles may engage opposite sides of a panel, shutter or screen ( 203 ), by insertion apparatus having laterally-movable slotted guides ( 60, 62 ). The weatherstrips are driven through the slots in the guides by a drive wheel ( 42 ). A laterally reciprocating cutter ( 48 ) has openings ( 107, 109 ), through which the weatherstrips are driven, and shearing edges ( 98 ) for cutting ends of the weatherstrips to facilitate entry of the weatherstrips from the slots in the guide into the slots in the frame member. Metering wheel ( 44 ) engages at least one of the weatherstrips moving through the guides, and provides for actuation of the cutter, when the desired length of the weatherstrips is driven through the guides; the length corresponding to the length of the frame member which receives the weatherstrips.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for insertingweatherstrips into frame members, and particularly to an apparatus andmethod for inserting a pair of weatherstrips in opposed relationshipwithin a frame member having opposite walls with slots into which thebacking strips of the weatherstrips are inserted simultaneously toeffect a sealing path between opposed ends of the sealing elements, suchas the piles or brushes, of the weatherstrips.

The present invention provides a dual weatherstrip insertion machine forinsertion of weatherstrips into a frame member, such as provided by aU-shaped extrusion having slots for receiving the weatherstrips on theinsides of opposed walls of the frame member; the weatherstripspresenting sealing elements, such as piles, which may be at an acuteangle to a perpendicular between the backing strips of theweatherstrips. The sealing path is along the intersection of the piles.

A screen, shutter, panel or other closure may be movable with respect toa sealing path formed by the opposed sealing elements which engagesopposite sides of the panel, shutter, screen or other movable closure,as it moves along the sealing path.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a roller screen, which is an example of theapplication of dual weatherstrips 200 and 202 which may be inserted intoextrusions 214 and 216 through the use of an insertion machine providedby this invention. The weatherstrips form longitudinal intersections 204and 206 between the opposed weatherstrips 200 and 202, thereby providinglines along which the screen 203 is movable where opposite sides of thescreen are sealed at the intersections. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the screen 203winds and unwinds on a spring roller 201 captured in a screen track 210movable in the directions shown by the arrows 211. The track 210 andscreen 203 are in a frame provided by the pair of extrusions 214 and216. These extrusions have walls and along the inside surfaces of thewalls are slots 220 and 222 which receive the backing strips 224 of theweatherstrips 226 of the kind described in Horton U.S. Pat. Nos.4,302,494, issued Nov. 24, 1981, and 4,148,953, issued Apr. 1, 1979, orJohnson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,382, issued Aug. 16, 1994, exceptthat the pile 228 extending from the backing strips is at an angle to aperpendicular to the backing strip of from 15 to 60 degrees. The anglefacilitates the insertion of the screen 203 between the opposedweatherstrips for engagement with the piles extending therefrom towardsthe sealing line. In the roller screen application, the walls of theextrusion and the slots therein are closely spaced, and theweatherstrips are usually inserted manually into the extrusions. Becauseof the close spacing of the slots in the extrusion, insertion withdevices for inserting or staking the weatherstrips into the slots, orpulling the weatherstrip through slots are not practicable. Suchinsertion devices are shown, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,833 toAlbanese et al., issued May 14, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,036 to Socciet al., issued Nov. 9, 1999, U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,921 to Saward et al.,issued May 18, 2004, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,400 to Miller et al.,issued Jun. 2, 1998.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention toprovide an improved apparatus for the dual insertion of weatherstrips,at the same time, into extrusions and other frame members, having slotsspaced to receive the weatherstrips, so that when received their pilesor other sealing elements form a sealing path along which a closureelement, such as a screen, panel, door, or window, may be received insealing engagement with the sealing element or pile on opposite sidesthereof.

The present invention enables dual insertion of piles which are in suchclosely spaced relationship that the ends of their sealing elements, asmay be provided by ends of the brushes or piles, are closely spaced orin engagement to provide the sealing path there between along which aclosure may be sealed on opposite sides thereof.

The invention also provides an apparatus for insertion of meteredlengths of the dual weatherstrips, such that the weatherstrips areinserted and cut to length suitable for the extrusion or other framemember in which they are installed by the insertion apparatus.

The invention also eliminates the need for insertion and staking wheelswhich drive the backings of weatherstrips into slots and the need forpulling weatherstrips through slots; the alignment of fresh weatherstripand the advancement thereof into the extrusion or other frame memberbeing implementable with minimum operator or other manual or skilledeffort.

Briefly described, the invention provides an apparatus for dualinsertion of weatherstrips into a frame member. The frame member may beprovided by an extrusion having slots which receive the weatherstrips,with the ends of their sealing elements (piles or brushes in case ofpile weatherstrips) in opposed relationship, so as to provide a sealingpath along which opposite sides of a closure element (a screen, panel,window, shutter, for example) may be disposed. The apparatus has a pairof guide members, or guides, having slots through which theweatherstrips may be advanced while being disposed in the samerelationship as required for the weatherstrips in the slots of theextrusion; specifically with the backing strips generally parallel toeach other and the pile extending outwardly from the backing stripstowards each other to define the sealing path therebetween. At least oneof the guides is laterally movable so that the slots therein arepositioned in alignment with the weatherstrip receiving slots of theextrusion. The extrusion may be butted against an outlet end of theguides, as with the aid of an alignment fixture. The weatherstrips aredriven out from the guides into the slots of the extrusion by a drivewheel which engages edges of the dual weatherstrips while they aresupported in the guides. Pressure may be provided on the opposite edgesof the weatherstrips by a pressure roller. A cutter having shearingedges is laterally reciprocal in the guides across the path of theweatherstrips, which pass through the cutter. When a desired length ofdual weatherstrips is driven out of the guide members into theextrusion, which length may be measured by a wheel engageable with atleast one of the weatherstrips, the cutter is actuated. Dart shaped endsmay be sheared at the end of the measured lengths of weatherstrip so asto facilitate insertion thereof from the slots in the guide members intothe corresponding slots in the extrusion.

The invention also provides a method for inserting a pair ofweatherstrips having the steps of providing a pair of guide slots inwhich each base of said weatherstrips is capable of traveling along oneof the guide slots, aligning the guide slots with the slots of thefixture, driving simultaneously along the guide slots the base of eachof the weatherstrips into the slots of the fixture with the aid of amotor driven wheel engaging the base of each of the weatherstrips, andcutting the weatherstrips when the weatherstrips are inserted in thefixture.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention, as well as a presently preferred embodiment of dual insertionapparatus according to the invention, will become more apparent from areading of the following description in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are fragmentary, elevational and sectional views (FIG. 2being taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1) which illustrate the rollerscreen application of dual weatherstrips described above, which may beinserted using insertion apparatus provided by the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the dual weatherstripinsertion apparatus provided in accordance with the presently preferredembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the insertion apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,the framework supporting the apparatus which is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,and the reels for the weatherstrip being omitted in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is an end view, from the outlet end, of the apparatus shown inFIG. 5, the view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the viewbeing taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an assembly of the principal partsof the apparatus shown in the preceding figures with dual pileweatherstrips inserted into the slots of the guides in the apparatus;

FIG. 10A is a plan view of the assembly as shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the assembly shown in FIG. 10A;

FIG. 12 is an end view taken from the left end of the assembly shown inFIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the assembly shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, thesection being taken along the line 13-13 in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing the opposed drive wheeland pressure roller in engagement with opposite edges of the backingstrips of the weatherstrips shown in the assembly illustrated in FIGS.10-13, the section being taken along the line 14-14 in FIG. 13; and

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along the line 15-15 inFIG. 10A which illustrates the cutter for cutting the dualweatherstrips, positioned in the center of its travel laterally of theguides of the insertion apparatus.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there shown, in FIGS. 3 and4, the insertion apparatus provided by the invention. A housing 10 on aframework 12 contains the insertion apparatus. The extrusion 14 is shownplaced against the output end of the apparatus ready to receive or inprocess of receiving the dual weatherstrips 13 and 15. A fixture may beused to effect support and alignment of various types of extrusion 14 atthe outlet end, as discussed below. The weatherstrips 13 and 15 arepayed off reels 16 and 18, and guided by a bracket 20 into the inlet endof the apparatus. A base plate 22 is mounted on a forward horizontalstrut 24 of the framework 12. This strut and the rest of the framework12 are omitted in FIG. 5 and in the other drawings after FIG. 5. A backplate 26 mounts compressed air lines and control valves and alsoelectrical components for operating the valves, which are not shown inthe drawing. An edge 22 a of the base plate 22 may be provided to assistthe operator in seating the extrusion 14 up against the housing 10 inposition to have the weatherstrips inserted therein.

A pair of upright panels 30 and 32 provide the sides of the housing 10and support the assembly of components which provide the mechanism ofthe apparatus for dual insertion of the weatherstrips. These uprightsare closed by a cover 34, which may be held down by quick release nuts36, which enable the cover to be released for easy access to themechanism which inserts the dual weatherstrips. The cover 34 includesplate 37 pivoted on a hinge 39 (FIG. 5). The plate 37 provides pressureon rollers 38 (FIG. 13) which provide pressure on the dual weatherstripsin guides 60 and 62 (FIGS. 10-13) described more fully below. The plate37 is releasable to rotate upwardly on its hinge 39, by a pull-out latch41. The nuts 36 and plate 37 also hold the cover down against pressureblocks 38 which are mounted for vertical movement in slots in theuprights 30 and 32, as shown in FIG. 7. These blocks bear on the axes ofpressure rollers 40. The pressure rollers 40 press the lower edges ofthe backing strips of the weatherstrips 13 and 15 against the drivewheel 42 and the encoder or measurement wheel 44. The drive wheel 42 isshown in FIG. 7 and the encoder wheel 44 is shown in FIG. 9. Thesewheels are also shown in the assembly drawing, FIGS. 10 through 14. Thedrive wheel 42 and encoder wheel 44 are held on their shafts 51 and 89,respectively, by lock nuts 47 and 49, respectively. Washers 95 on shaft89 space encoder wheel 44 from its lock nut 49.

Another principal component of the mechanism is the cutter 48 which isshown in FIGS. 7, 10A, 11 and 15. The cutter is reciprocated by apneumatic cylinder 50. The drive wheel 42 is turned by a pneumatic motor52 via a gear box 54 (FIG. 7). Air for the motor 52 is delivered via avalve not shown, which may be mounted on the back plate 26, andcompressed air lines (also not shown). Motor air is exhausted via amuffler arrangement 56, in a manner conventional for air motors.

Guides 60 and 62 have T-slots through which the weatherstrips 13 and 15travel and are guided into the corresponding slots in the extrusion 14.In order that the slots in the guides are in alignment with the slots inthe extrusion 14, one of the guides 62 is laterally movable with respectto the other 60. The guide 60 is fixed to the upright 32 as shown inFIG. 8. Adjustment is obtained by an adjusting bolt 66 which is threadedinto the upright 30 and bears against the outside wall of the guide 62(see FIGS. 8 and 9) and also the assembly drawings in FIGS. 10 to 15.The guide 62 is supported on pins 70 and 72. The fixed guide 60 isattached to the upright 32 by the bolts (not shown) which extend throughholes 101 and 103. The pins 70 and 72 are press fit into openings 61 inthe fixed guide 60.

Press fit into the other guide 62, and mounting that guide 62 forlateral movement on the pins 70 and 72 are bushings 74 and 76 (see FIG.11). These bushings capture springs 78 and 80 between fixed guide 60 andthe ends bushings 74 and 76 facing the guide 62. These springs, applyforce through the bushings 74 and 76 on the laterally movable guide 62against the end of the adjustment bolt 66. Accordingly, when theadjustment bolt 66 is turned, its end 67 (see FIGS. 8 and 10), moves themovable guide 62 on the pins 70 and 72. Since the pins are captured inthe uprights 30 and 32, the guide 62 is restricted in its motion tolateral motion, and tilting or other freedoms of motions are inhibited.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, the guides 60 and 62 have notches 80 a and82 and indentations 83 and 85. These notches are penetrated by slits 84and 86. The backing strips of the weatherstrips 13 and 15 extend throughthese slits for engagement, along their lower edges, by the drive wheel42. The opposite (upper) edges of the backing strips are engaged by thepressure rollers 40. The encoder wheel 44 engages the lower edge of thebacking strip of the weatherstrip 13, via indentation 85, inside thefixed guide 60. Pressure rollers 40 also engage the opposite (upperedge) of the backing strip as it travels through the fixed guide 60. Thedrive wheel 42 is toothed, as is the encoder wheel 44, to facilitate thefrictional driving engagement of these wheels and the weatherstrips. Inthis embodiment, both weatherstrips 13 and 15 are directly driven at thesame time. The drive wheel 42 bridges the gap between the guides 60 and62 and engages edges of the backing strips of both weatherstrips 13 and15, via indentations 83 in guides 60 and 62 (see FIGS. 8 and 11). Adrive wheel 42 may cover a range of extrusions, say over a half-inch inseparation of the slots therein which receive the weatherstrips. In theevent that a wider separation of slots in the extrusion is to beaccommodated, the drive wheel 42 may be replaced with a drive wheel oflarger width.

As the encoder wheel 44 rotates and the number of its rotations istranslated into distance measurement by a commercially available shaftencoder 88 (see FIG. 9), which is connected to the encoder wheel 44 by ashaft 89. The shaft 89 penetrates the upright 32. The output of theencoder may be an electrical signal or pulse, which indicates the lengthof weatherstrip which is metered through the insertion apparatus. Theencoder is coupled to logic circuitry having a preset desired length ofweatherstrip in encoder pulses, and a counter which counts the number ofencoder pulses until the desired length is reached. When requisitelength is measured, the logic circuits send a signal to control valve(s)(not shown) on the back plate 26 to cause the motor 52 to stop bycontrol of motor drive air, and to actuate the cutter 48 by applying airto the pneumatic cylinder 50 (see FIGS. 6, 7, 10, 12). The counter isthen reset. The logic circuits may represent discrete logic element(s)providing a counter having an adjustable maximum value, or amicrocontroller (or microprocessor or the like) programmed to providesuch counter with memory storing the desired length of the weatherstrip.A user interface to the discrete logic elements or microcontroller maybe provided, such as LCD display and buttons or toggle switches, toenable the user to monitor the counter value and set the desired maximumlength.

The cutter 48 is a block reciprocal in the guides 60 and 62, and havingtwo openings through which the weatherstrips 13 and 15 move. Thepneumatic cylinder 50 has a piston shaft 50 a (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 10A)which is connected to one end of the block of the cutter 48. A spring 93around the shaft 50 a of the piston bears against a mounting plate 94which attaches the cylinder 50 to the upright 32. This spring 93 tendsto push the cutter block 48 to the left as viewed in FIG. 15. Anotherspring 92, which is captured in a hole in the upright 30 (see FIG. 7),tends to move the cutter block 48 in the opposite direction. Bothsprings, acting together, tend to center the cutter block 48, so thatwindows 107 and 109 therein are aligned with the slots in the guides 60and 62 through which the weatherstrips travel.

The weatherstrips 13 and 15 pass through these windows 107 and 109 inthe laterally reciprocal cutter block 48. The windows 107 and 109 areseparated by a web 97. The web 97 and the guides 60 and 62 provide theshears which cut the weatherstrips to desired lengths. The web 97provides shearing edges 97 a and 97 b (FIG. 15). The inside face 96 ofthe cutter block 48 is v-shaped, as is the rear faces of the openings inthe guides 60 and 62 in which the cutter block 48 reciprocates (see FIG.11). Accordingly, when the pneumatic cylinder 50 is actuated and drivesto the cutter to the left as viewed in FIG. 15, a shearing edge 97 a atthe web 97 shears the weatherstrip 13 against the inside surface of theguide 62. When the air cylinder 50 is actuated in the oppositedirection, the other weatherstrip 15 is sheared by the other edge 97 bof the web 97. When both sides of the piston in the air cylinder arereconnected to return pressure, the springs 92 and 93 center the cutter48 and the cutter returns to the position shown in FIG. 15. Theextrusion 14 is then removed.

Tails of the weatherstrip may extend from the extrusion. These tails maybe trimmed or used for insertion in other parts of the frame of whichthe extrusion 14 is a part. The tails may be cut off if not needed. Thedarts at the end of the weatherstrips, formed by the v-shaped face 96 ofthe shearing edges provided by the web 97 facilitate insertion of theweatherstrips into the next extrusion in which an additional length ofthe weatherstrips is to be inserted.

It may be desirable to provide a fixture specific to the extrusion intowhich the dual weatherstrips are to be inserted, which when placed onthe edge 22 a of the base plate 22 aligns the weatherstrip receivingslots in the extrusion 14 with the slots in the guides 60 and 62.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has beenprovided an apparatus especially adapted for insertion into frames ofdual weatherstrips. Variations and modifications in the herein describedapparatus, within the scope of the invention, will undoubtedly suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoingdescription should be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

1. Apparatus for inserting dual weatherstrips having seals, extendingtoward each other on opposite sides of a channel in a frame to define asealing path along opposite sides of which a closure member is engagedin sealing relationship by said seals, and with respect to which saidframe said closure member is movable, said apparatus comprising a pairof guides in which said weatherstrips are movable with respect to adriving wheel which is engageable in driving relationship with saidweatherstrips to drive said weatherstrips longitudinally of said guidesfor insertion of said weatherstrips into said channel of said frame whensaid frame is disposed in alignment with an output end of said guides,at least one of the said guides is mounted for lateral movement so thata lateral spacing of said guides corresponds to a spacing of saidchannel for receiving and having said weatherstrips inserted thereinwhen driven by said driving wheel.
 2. Apparatus for inserting a pair ofweatherstrips having seals extending toward each other from backingstrips on opposite sides of a channel in a frame along which a member,opposite sides of which are engaged in sealing relationship by saidseals, and with respect to said frame, said member is movable, saidapparatus comprising: a pair of guides and a driving wheel, in whichsaid weatherstrips are movable disposed with edges of said backingstrips exposed to said driving wheel which is engageable in drivingrelationship with said edges to drive said weatherstrips longitudinallyof said guides therethrough for insertion of said weatherstrips intosaid channel of said frame when said frame is disposed against an outputend of said guides; and bearings on which at least one of the saidguides is mounted for lateral movement so that a lateral spacing of saidguides corresponds to a spacing of said channel to receive and have saidweatherstrips inserted therein when driven by said driving wheel.
 3. Theapparatus according to claim 1 wherein said weatherstrips are pileweatherstrips having piles extending from said backing strips intoclosely adjacent relationship or contacting engagement to define alongitudinal sealing path therebetween which receives said member. 4.The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a cutter disposedbetween said wheel and said output end, said cutter having openingsthrough which said weatherstrips move toward the output end of saidguides, an actuator for moving reciprocally said cutter laterally forcutting said weatherstrips after insertion into said channel of theweatherstrips.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said cutterhas one or more cutting surfaces which are shaped to provide each ofsaid weatherstrips with a dart shaped cut end.
 6. The apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said guides are yieldably biased to moveapart from each other to change the lateral spacing between said guides,and a laterally movable adjusting member engageable with at least one ofsaid guides for fixing the lateral spacing of said guides to correspondto the spacing of said channel in said frame.
 7. The apparatus accordingto claim 6 further comprising support panels spaced laterally from eachother for holding said guides in relatively laterally movable and spacedrelationship.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein saidbearings comprise pins mounted in at least one of said support panelsand extending between said support panels.
 9. The apparatus according toclaim 7 wherein said adjusting member represents a bolt in a threadedopening in one of said panels which bears against and translates atleast one of said guides to adjust the lateral spacing therebetween. 10.The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said driving wheel has atoothed driving periphery which extends through said guides intoengagement with the edges of said backing strips.
 11. The apparatusaccording to claim 7 wherein said guides have T-slots longitudinallytherethrough in which said weatherstrips are disposed with said sealsfacing each other and with said backing strips generally transverse tosaid seals and generally parallel to opposing sides of said guides,thereby presenting edges of said backing strips for engagement with saiddriving wheel.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein saiddriving wheel has an axis of rotation, and further comprising a rollerhaving an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said driving wheel,said roller being engageable with at least one of said backing stripsfor measuring the length of said weatherstrips driven through saidapparatus for insertion into said channel, and providing for actuationof said cutter when a selected length of weatherstrip is driven throughsaid apparatus.